Rating: Needs Parent Supervision

Reading Level: Late Elementary


What does it mean to be human? Who can create life? If someone’s body is part-machine, does that make them less human? And what if a machine acts more human than a person?

Cogheart is about a Tomboy girl, Lily, who is bullied for treating others (especially robots) with kindness. When Lily’s brilliant inventor father is pronounced dead, and the true colors of those around her begin to show, Lily runs away to try to find him. She ends up unlocking mysteries about her family and herself.

Possible Concerns:

  • Theology. The inventor seems to be able to create machines that have souls. To me, humans should be able to beget new souls but not create them, which is reserved for the divine. Even with cloning or implanting eggs, the life itself in not created by a human—only stewarded by one. In addition, the same inventor ends up building a device with the capability of giving eternal life, which he recognizes as dangerous and tries to hide from the world.
  • Peril. There is some violence: arson, terrorism, and murder, so be aware.
  • Cursing. Occasionally a character gets upset and the author says, “he cursed” or something but doesn’t include the curse words themselves.
  • The Occult in the sequel. I started reading the sequel, Moonlocket, and I am not impressed. An orphaned boy on the hunt for his mom finds out she “talked with the spirits.” There also has been images in the windows of his old home that the boy attributes to ghosts. It just doesn’t seem worth the time to me.

As for Cogheart, I liked an unexpected plot twist and thought it was well-written for a reader who is mature enough to handle the theological issues and the violence. But if your kid will want to read the sequel, I’m not sure I can really recommend Cogheart anymore.